Thursday, June 28, 2007

I'm home- finally! After 3 weeks of being on the road, I'm back and ready to share my trip to Puerto Rico with all of you. As usual, there is so much to say, so I'll let the photographs do most of the talking. I'm dividing my Puerto Rico reporting into 3 posts: places and things to see and do, things to eat (of course!), and fun things, people, and creatures to see.

So without further ado, here are some images from my week in Puerto Rico, where I...

...got to relax on the beach and enjoy colorful sunsets on the beach in the Isla Verde neighborhood of San Juan...

...visit the east coast town of Fajardo from where we took a boat to...

...the nearly deserted island of Icacos for some snorkeling and coral reef marveling...

...see children enjoying the waterfall at...

... El Yunque rain forest and national park (my first visit to a rain forest!)...

...then head west and visit the awe-inspiring caves (Las Cavernas del Río Camuy) south of the town of Arecibo...

...where I got to drink from the fresh waters of the fountain of youth (dear god, I hope it is!), and where Daiku and I met an elderly gentleman who told us that no visit to Puerto Rico would be complete without seeing the town of Ponce on the southern coast...

...so we drove through windy mountain roads from north to south (all the while seeing stunning views such as the above photo)...

...stopping along the way to see the Arecibo observatory, home of the biggest single-dish telescope in the world (and part of SETI, for all the astronomy geeks/Carl Sagan fans out there!)...

...to get to beautiful Ponce, centuries-old town filled with grand architecture...

...where we got to see and touch the Caribbean sea for the first time- woo hoo!...

...and then back to Old San Juan, home to more stunning architecture, beautifully colored houses, tons of civic monuments and statues...

...and of course, the remains of the Fort San Felipe del Morro, a nearly 500 year-old reminder of the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

Whew! Tune in tomorrow for a food round-up of Puerto Rico- being vegan turned out to be easier than I thought there, and there were a few surprises along the road.

Welcome back! That water looks so gorgeous. The turquoise against the bright blue sky is so spectacular. I loved living close to the beack in So. Cal. (at one point I rented a house that was only 1 block from the water) and as nice as it was, never was it as lovely as this. The water was always grey and murky. We're heading to Florida in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited to be able to immerse myself in that same type of beauty and peace.

What a cool tree, with it's twisted and gnarled roots. Amazing how it's survived like that. Hmmm, I could totally see that tree on a motivational poster about "hanging in there."

The colors of the buildings are so much fun. I remember when Johanna posted some like that, I was in awe. I wish people here had the desire to be more colorful.

Wow- I'm overwhelmed by the amazing country of Puerto Rico. You must have had a great time. Really, all the pictures are stunning and I can't wait to visit the Island someday. (Hopefully soon, since by older brother's long time girl friend is Puerto Rican and has a lot of family there.)

Every single time you wrote Puerto Rico in this post my mind started singing 'aye aye aye aye aye aye aye.... pueeeeeerto riiico'. What can I say, my mother used to play that song ALL the time when I was a kid.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1ezoHD_FynQ

Anyway, it looks fantastic. I want to go there! I have a new bathing suit and everything!

Glad you're back! Though if it had been me, I might never have come home, from the looks of those photos. I've wanted to see a rainforest for a long time now... These pics are so beautiful and you did some really neat things!

Fantastic photos! Thank you for sharing your experience in Puerto Rico--I can't wait to see where you ate. I just returned from a 3 day trip to Puerto Rico and I can't wait to go back soon. I always find wonderfully whole vegetarian places to eat. Did you find La Buena Mesa de Oscar? A wonderful local flair which is also gluten-free vegan.

I am simply in awe - Puerto Rico is SO beautiful! Your post has totally convinced me that I need to visit. That tree is positively thriving on the beach like that - how incredible. I loved all your architecture shots, too. Can't wait for the food post! Glad to have you back in Blogland...though I bet you're missing those beaches right about now! =)

beautiful pictures! Its awesome that you made it to arecibo...as a "astronomy geeks/Carl Sagan fan", its on my list of "place to see before I die." Is is really as massive and amazing as it looks in pictures?

I'm a major astronomy geek/Carl Sagan fan too! I have to say the observatory is pretty darn massive. The whole thing is an experience, having to walk up a huge hill in 90-degree weather, and then peeking down into the giant telescope.

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A Note About My Food:

All the food on this blog, unless explicitly noted, is vegan. That means that no animal products (flesh, milk, eggs, or gelatin) have been used. So go ahead and enjoy the food porn-ice cream! omlettes! baked goods galore!- guilt-free.